GATE has connected to: A continuation. Next stop: Fanon Council!

"Kill the demon! He is clearly beginning to grow into the monster he once was!" The cries rang out from many around the room. Had Sarutobi been any less used to the sheer stupidity of the civilians, he would have had his head in his hands at their irrational hate. But he was, unfortunately, very used to it. He had been Hokage for decades, and as such was very used to dealing with the incompetent. Usually he was lenient, for there wasn't any point in needlessly antagonizing the merchants of the village. That said, everyone has their tipping point. And he had reached his.

"Be silent!" Sarutobi roared, slamming his quarterstaff against the floor. Power flashed in his eyes, and the assembled crowd grew silent. "You want me to get rid of Naruto, correct? You claim he is a demon, correct? You don't want to take the chance that the Kyuubi destroys Leaf a second time, correct? Fine then. But this is not something that is only important to the civilian council. So assemble all the councils, civilian, ninja, and elder. Go away and play your games. Trade favors, sweet talk others, and come back in three days. Then we will have a vote on the fate of one Naruto Uzumaki. Now leave me be, I have a village to repair, paperwork to sign, and answers to get." When the assembled crowd looked around in confusion, he pulled forth more of his power, which seeped into the room in an oppressive cloud of pressure. "I said leave!" the God of Shinobi roared. They left.

Sarutobi stood and walked back towards his office, flanked by his ANBU guard they passed the hospital, which was still in a state of activity, medical ninja rushing about, bringing supplies to heal the injured and carrying away stretchers that held the dead. They passed the ninja academy, which was now closed. Some unlucky children would never again grace its walls. They passed the Memorial Stone, stone carvers already at work, immortalizing the few who were overwhelmed and slaughtered. Ninja, caught unaware, or killed protecting civilians from the hoard. And finally they arrived at the Hokage Tower. Sarutobi strolled inside and entered his office. With a wave, the ANBU disappeared from sight. The old Hokage sighed and sat down at his desk. A pile of paperwork already sat there, and he grimaced. It was, he though, as if paperwork was some sort of plague. There was always more of it, and it never went away for good. He quickly wrote up a memo that someone should tell Naruto that he would be on trial, with the possibility of death. Sarutobi handed it to an ANBU who stepped out of the shadows, before putting it out of mind. There were more important things to worry about.

"Let the full Council come to order! Today we will be addressing the fate of Naruto Uzumaki. Hokage?" The thin man who had just spoken turned towards Sarutobi, who nodded back. The thin man was called Hametsu, and he had been on the council for as long as it had existed. He was old, old enough that not even Sarutobi remembered where he had come from. In fact, no one knew anything about him. It was said that eras may come and go, Hokage may live and die, but Hametsu? Hametsu is here to stay. In spite of this, Hametsu was not important. He was not the master manipulator that some claimed he was. He was old, but nothing more. He had existed since before the council had. He had been old when Konoha was still young. He had acted as an aide to the Shodai Hokage, the Nidaime Hokage, and when Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage had created the Grand Council, Hametsu had been among the first to join. He had sat for decades, and never yet voted. Never expressed an opinion. Never done anything more than announce what the council was gathered for. But today, Hametsu looked on at the proceedings with interest in his world-weary eyes. And it made Sarutobi worried. But there was nothing for it. So he put old Hametsu out of his mind, and turned to the council.

"You have heard Hametsu. You know what we are ruling on. And I know some of you would wish to vote now. But first, why don't we bring in the accused? Just for the sake of posterity." Some of the assembled council members looked around with a slight bit of worry. After all, they had counted on the demon not being here. If he was, he might be able to trick some of the more soft-hearted members into thinking that he wasn't a monster. One member spoke up.

"Hokage, I thought the Kyuubi was away. Was he not assigned to a mission?"

Sarutobi waved the man away. "No, Kakashi didn't feel like showing up. I think. To be honest, I'm not sure. Whatever the case, I can't send a genin team without the Jonin, so they didn't go."

The same man spoke up again. "Well then, this Kakashi clearly isn't good at following orders. Why don't we kick him out as well? He's probably not a very good ninja if he was assigned to the demon anyways."

The entire council burst into laughter. Even those who hated Naruto and wanted him dead respected Kakashi. The Copy Ninja, prodigy in a town of prodigies. To be sure, some in the room wished him dead, for one reason or another, but universally, he was respected. He was lazy, he was stuck in the past, he was most certainly not perfect. But he was, as much as was possible, an incredibly exemplary ninja.

"You have said your piece. Now, sit down and never darken my halls with your stupidity again," Sarutobi said. The man tried to protest, but Sarutobi paid him no mind. "If you continue your inane babbling, I will kill you." The young man sat down. "Very well then, bring in the accused!"

"But Hokage," his old friend Homura said. "We have not yet voted to allow him in here. It goes in the face of all tradition…"

Sarutobi turned to his old friend, and his old friend flinched away. "I will tell you what I told the insolent brat only a little while prior. Cease your inane babbling or die." There was steel in the old hokage's eyes. For too long, the council had become used to Old Man Sarutobi, the kindly grandfather of the ninja. They had forgotten Sarutobi, Third Hokage, veteran of the First, Second, and Third Ninja Wars. With a single glance, he reminded them, and they fell silent. At least in this matter, none would oppose him.

The doors swung open with a creak, and a short, blond haired boy walked through the doors. He couldn't have been more than eleven, and his eyes looked downtrodden. It was a sight that would have made most want to hung the child, at the loss and despair in his eyes. And yet, most of the civilian council and a sizable portion of the ninja council looked at the child with nothing more than cold hatred, fear, and loathing. The high council, with his old teammates, stood aloof, but clearly didn't like the boy.

"In my mind," Sarutobi said, "there is no reason to delay. You all know what the vote is about, and nothing I say will sway your mind. So, all in favour of his immediate execution?"

As one, the civilian council roared their assent, and the boy flinched away from their hate filled cries. He turned his eyes to the ninja council, searching for any support there. He found little. One by one, the ninja council too raised their hands. Most who wished for death were minor clans, but a few major ones joined their side. Shimura for one. Akimichi and Yamanaka as well. The Inuzuka too, though their head clearly disliked the decision. Notably missing were the Nara and the Hyuga. Of course, the Aburame abstained, as they almost always did. But, though these few clans voted against, the majority voted for death. The high council too voted for the death of a child who he thought of as his grandson. Sarutobi gave a sigh. It was as he had expected, but he really hadn't wanted to do this.

He raised a hand, and the civilian council calmed itself. With another sigh, Sarutobi spoke. "Well then, I suppose I have no choice. I am sorry to say…"

"Please, wait, Hokage." Sarutobi paused, and turned in surprise, as did the rest of the council. Of all the people to speak up, he had been the last one Sarutobi had expected.

"Well then, speak up Hiashi. What do you have to say?" Sarutobi asked, motioning to the Hyuuga clan head.

"Hokage, there is no need to kill the child. If you just allow my clan to apply the Caged Bird seal, then we could keep him alive as an asset. Why waste such a powerful tool, after all?"

Sarutobi glanced over at Danzo, whom he would have expected to have said as much. Danzo merely shook his head. "While I would agree with the Hyuuga clan head, it would be mostly useless. The boy is too old to be bound, not when he has already tasted freedom. Unless you were to give him to me and allow me to train him as I once trained my Root, then he is useless."

Sarutobi would have laughed. Danzo made it seem as if Root was gone, but he knew the truth. Of course he did. He might be old, but that did not mean he was senile. And yet, he made no move to disassemble the group. After all, it was useful to have a shadow group, who would carry out mission that he would never assign to even his Anbu. Not, of course, that they followed his orders, but he trusted Danzo to at least uphold the best interests of Konoha.

And that was why he shook his head. "Refused, Danzo. Better he die than be given over to you. I disbanded Root for a reason." Yes, Sarutobi trusted Danzo to act in Konoha's best interests. And in this case, the best interests of Konoha dictated that Naruto be either broken or killed. In the end, giving him to Danzo would only result in him being killed all the same.

"Then," Danzo said sadly, "I must ask that we execute him. It would not do to give the Hyuuga any more power than they already have."

"I'm sorry, but are you insinuating that I ask this only out of a wish for more power?" Hiashi almost yelled at Danzo, which was quite the feat. After all, the Hyuuga were notoriously good at keeping their composure. "If it would placate you, I could attempt to modify the seal so that only the Hokage would have control. It would place the Jinchūriki under the sole control of the Hokage."

Sarutobi shook his head. "Your idea has merit, but I guarantee that we have no prison that can hold the Nine-tails. Your seal would last only for a few days. A week at best. Currently, the greatest seal that I have ever seen, save for perhaps those in the Tower or in Uzushiogakure, holds the Kyuubi at bay. Yours would not hold. No, I have a better idea. The council has voted to kill him, correct?"
Hiashi frowned. "Yes, Sarutobi-sama. But, if you just give me some time, I could develop a more specialized seal and…"

Sarutobi shook his head. "No. There is no need. I have heard the council's wishes. There is only one thing to do now, I suppose. As Hokage of Konohagakure, I hereby declare that Naruto Uzumaki…" He paused and looked down at Naruto, who was staring at the ground in despair. "That Naruto Uzumaki is to be promoted to Chunin, for skill and bravery on the battlefield."

The council erupted into cries. The ninja council gazed at him in confusion, the elder council in grim understanding, and the civilian council in anger. One councilman, the one Sarutobi had told to shut up once before today stood up.

"You can't do that!" the man yelled. "We voted for his death! The Grand Council voted for his death! You have to execute him!"

Sarutobi smiled at the man and stepped forward. Then he grabbed his head and slammed him into the ground. The man's skull burst like a ripe melon and Sarutobi stood up.

"Silence." He spoke, and all present listened. "I warned you not to speak again. And I am a man of my word. I have every right to do so. You seem to forget, this is not a democracy. This is a military dictatorship. You civilians presume to tell me what to do with my own ninja? My own men? Me? I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Ninja, Hokage of the Hidden Leaf! I have let the council do what is wishes for too long, it seems. You never truly had any power. I did, and I do. Henceforth, the council does not exist. You wish to challenge my orders?" Sarutobi summoned his staff to his hands and slammed it onto the ground with a crash. "Fine then, come and challenge them to my face. Come, little men. Come and let me crush you underfoot!"

There were no challengers. Sarutobi lowered his staff and motioned to Naruto. "Come with me Naruto. You and I have much to discuss. The elder council can come as well. Though I may disagree with you in many ways, at least you have never presumed to give me anything more than strongly worded advice. Oh, and Danzo? Disband Root. And this time, I mean it. Or I will execute you."

With that, the Sandaime Hokage turned and strode from the room. After a few seconds pause, Naruto followed after him, as did the three on the elder council. Behind, those who remained sprang into pandemonium. Hametsu just watched the proceedings calmly. Then he smiled. "This is good." He too stood and walked from the room, closing the great doors behind him.

Based on Naruto again. I mean, really. If you don't know Naruto, go check it out. I won't say it's good or anything, but at least get a basic idea of what it is. Also, sorry for the wait. Life happened. I blame Thanksgiving. But hey, at least I updated. Oh, and how about you go check out one of my other fics? I suggest "Kitten in the Closet, or Cat Catch a Break." It's a Bleach thing, and it's finished. Go me!